DEAD MEAT

Helena and her partner Martin are driving through the Irish countryside when suddenly a man appears on the road and is inevitably hit by Martin. The two try to help him, but the man first seems dead, then reacts aggressively and bites Martin before being fatally struck in the head by Martin himself. Helena goes to seek help, but meanwhile her partner transforms into a zombie hungry for human flesh and chases after his sweet half. From that moment on, for Helena it is the beginning of a nightmare, as she will find herself wandering through the Irish countryside while a virus that brings the dead back to life is circulating. "Dead meat" represents a somewhat unusual case of horror entirely filmed and produced in Ireland by independent director Connor McMahon, a guy who surely grew up with George A. Romero's zombie films and has learned well the lesson on how to make a respectable horror film with little money but a lot of good will. The comparison with Romero is inevitable, since "Dead meat" can be considered a very personal reimagining of "Night of the Living Dead"; McMahon cites Romero's masterpiece at several points, starting with the car opening, which strongly reminds the beginning of "Night of the Living Dead" with Barbara and her brother, up to the conclusion, passing through a series of characters that strongly resemble the 1968 film. In this case, McMahon took the trouble to provide an explanation for the spread of the disease, caused by a mad strain of the "mad cow" virus, an explanation that is surely original and highly topical in 2004 Ireland (the film's production year), a period when fear of bovine disease was spreading across half of Europe. Despite the independent nature of "Dead meat", the final result, although showing in some scenes and solutions the extreme poverty of means, does not disappoint at all, but rather makes the work more appreciated, which appears rough and crude to just the right point. Splatter scenes abound and their execution is of the highest quality: you can count dismemberments by the dozens, not to mention cannibalistic meals and the bloody final fight. The pace is also very fast-paced and does not give the viewer a moment's respite; in fact, in this relentless frenzy of action, you can perhaps find the major weak point of "Dead meat", which often sacrifices narrative and character development to give more space to fights and action scenes in general. Apart from the protagonist, played by a debutant Marian Araujo, and her co-star hero/grave digger (David Muyllaert), the other characters do not seem particularly credible, although in some cases they somewhat resemble the character types of "Night of the Living Dead". McMahon's direction, on the other hand, seems of very high level, capable of managing action scenes clearly and in detail without neglecting some very personal virtuosity that adds a touch of dynamism to the shots. In short, "Dead meat" is a respectable low-budget product, a breath of fresh air in the now monotonous landscape of zombie-themed films, capable of involving the viewer and making the splatter lover happy without neglecting a handful of good ideas that definitely raise its level. Recommended to all zombie movie lovers.